


Merfolk

by AuroraBeam



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Human Sakura, Merfolk AU, Mershark Kakashi, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2018-12-25 23:16:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12046338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraBeam/pseuds/AuroraBeam
Summary: Sakura had seen multiple merpeople during life but none of them had managed to grab her attention the way Kakashi did.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There isn't enough Mershark!Kakashi out here so I thought I would add something to it.

Sakura wondered how ugly it was going to be.

During her short career she had already seen quite a lot. When she was a child she had thought she already knew what she wanted to be when she got older. “A caretaker of merfolk in an aquarium,” was what she told everyone who wanted to hear about it. Ever since her parents took her to an aquarium she had been obsessed by them and she always begged her parents to go to aquariums. It seemed like a dreamjob to take care of the majestic-looking creatures. It wasn't until she got older that she started to realize that not all the merpeople she saw had a good life in the aquariums and she changed her goal a little. At sixteen she wanted to become a biologist specialized in merfolk. At the age of 23 she graduated with a master's degree and it was then that she found out it wasn't that easy to get a job. Especially when she didn't want to have anything to do with the aquariums that made their merfolk perform. It was by accident that she found the job she had now. She would have never imagined that it was Naruto that would help her get to a place like this but it was. 

Naruto had never known what he wanted to do, even when he graduated from high school. When she bumped into him a few months after she had graduated, however, it turned out he had ended up in a place she could only dream of. Naruto was an orphan but his guardian Hiruzen Sarutobi, who he called his grandpa, owned a merfolk rescue center and he had given Naruto a job there. Nothing too closely related to the merfolk, instead, he would keep the place clean or drive the rescue van to the place the rescue team needed to be. “I'm like a handyman,” Naruto had laughed when he told her about it.

He had been really surprised when he heard Sakura hadn't gotten a job yet and promised to talk to Sarutobi about it. It had taken a few months but when one of the employees left the center she had been invited for an interview and miraculously had been called a few days after. She had almost cried when the man offered her the job. 

Of course, she had started at the bottom. She often cleaned with Naruto or prepared the food, which was one of her least favorite jobs. The smell just got stuck with her and it took her a while before adjusting to it. However, as she was getting more and more experience, she also got closer to the rescued merpeople. Many of them were brought in in terrible conditions. Sometimes they had gotten stuck in fishing nets and wounded themselves when trying to get out. Others would have gotten beached and were close to dying of dehydration. Some suffered from the plastic that was polluting the oceans. It was always a happy occasion when a merperson was fully rehabilitated and could be let free again but there was also the dark side when the merfolk didn't make it, despite all their efforts to save them.

“We're almost there,” Naruto quietly told her, disrupting her thoughts. He had been uncharacteristically silent the whole way to the place where the mershark had been found. It was just after midnight that the rescue center was called by a police officer. The police had discovered when and where an underground auction would take place and had invaded the place. Among the goods ready to be sold they had found a living mershark, who they had requested would be picked up by them. It would be the first time for Sakura to see a merperson in a situation like that but some of the veterans had already told her that those merfolk usually weren't in a very good condition. Even if the smugglers tried to sell them for the highest price, they weren't afraid to use violence against their goods. Often the merpeople were more dead than alive by the time they got sold due to mistreatment but also because keeping them healthy was more difficult than it seemed. 

Naruto parked as close to the building as he could and Naruto, Kiba, Lee, and her got out. She wouldn't have expected that an underground auction would take place here, it looked like a normal warehouse. A cop was waiting for them and they were quickly pulled inside.  
“It has been really agitated since we got here and it doesn't have a lot of space. It keeps ramming against the glass,” the man rambled. “We're worried it will break the tank if this goes on for much longer.” 

Sakura frowned when the cop referred to the mershark as 'it', even if they were not human, they were very intelligent creatures, sometimes they could understand the human language and in rare cases they could even talk. The least the man could do was use some pronouns. However, she didn't have the time to start a discussion. It sounded like they needed to hurry. If the mershark didn't have a lot of space, he could easily hurt himself, especially when he was trying to move a lot. 

“They're here,” the cop announced to his colleagues. Sakura's eyes immediately went to the glass tank that was standing in the far corner. It might have been considered big if there had been anything else but a large mershark trapped inside of it. As the cop had said, the mershark seemed agitated, he kept moving in the small space that he had and kept smashing against the glass. Sakura saw Naruto flinching, what she could understand. There was no way it wasn't hurting the mershark. A few cops stood a few meters away from the tank and had their phones out making pictures. Every time a flash went off the mershark seemed to go crazy and Sakura stormed towards the cops. 

“Are you really not realizing that what you're doing is upsetting him or are you just that stupid,” she snarled while ripping the phone out of the man's hand. She controlled her anger as best as she could and instead of smashing the phone to pieces she simply turned it off before returning it and then shooing the cops away. She had better things to do. The rest of the team had followed closely behind and the angry looks on the others' faces probably kept the cop from reacting negatively to her. 

The mershark seemed to calm down at least a little when the flashes stopped. When she took a slow step forward he stopped moving completely and his eyes focused on her. Sakura quickly scanned his body, looking for injuries. He had one scar on his face, a slash that went through his eye but the eye itself seemed okay. He had a lot of old scars as well, running all over his body but there was only one scar she was really worried about it. It was one that seemed fresh, at most a week old, and the skin around it seemed irritated. 

“Hey there,” she spoke softly as she carefully took a step forward. She didn't want to spook the large mershark. Just because he had halted his movements for a short while didn't mean the danger was completely gone. He seemed to merely assess the new situation. Sakura hoped he could stay calm. She didn't want to sedate him but would if she had to. She knew the rest of her team was keeping their distance, trusting her to make the right decisions. 

“Look how gorgeous you are,” she kept her tone gentle as she slowly moved closer. The male was watching her intently but hadn't moved yet. She knew it could change within seconds and tried to seem as nonthreatening as possible. Merpeople were very intelligent and some biologist even argued that they could feel whether people had good or bad intentions. Sakura wasn't sure about that but she wanted to believe in it. She had seen during earlier rescues that some merfolk calmed down almost instantly the moment a team from the rescue center would arrive, as if the creatures knew they were there to help them. She just hoped that would be the case with this one as well. It could get very messy if he didn't. 

Getting close to a merperson was always dangerous. Even though most children couldn't stop talking about how beautiful the creatures were, in the end, they were predators and there had been enough reported cases of merfolk attacking humans. The chances of an attack happening all depended on what sort of merperson it was and what their gender was, males tended to be more aggressive than females, unless of course their young were involved. You really didn't want to be close to a mermaid when they had young. Knowing this didn't stop her from helping the merfolk though. In most cases of aggressive behavior, the merpeople had been provoked by humans and thus it wasn't their fault. 

“Well, here I am,” she stopped about a meter from the tank, giving the mershark some time to process everything. In the meanwhile, she got a closer look at the wound that ran over his chest, it was obviously caused by humans and Sakura had to suppress her anger. This mershark had probably been caught not too long ago. It was very difficult to breed them in captivity so the merfolk were caught in order to supply aquariums or the private collections of some very rich people. It angered her that the creatures were violently ripped out of their familiar surroundings. Usually the hunters tried to capture young ones. They were smaller and easier to control. This mershark, on the other hand, might be one of the largest mersharks she had ever seen. He would be the largest mershark in the rescue center once they got him there. She guessed that his full body length would be over two meters. It was a grayish silver that matched his hair. She couldn't make an estimated guess about how old the mershark was, just that he was a fully grown adult who had seen his share of fights, judging from all the older scars that could be found all over his body. Luckily, he seemed to be in a better condition than she could have hoped for. His tail seemed to have come out unharmed, which was good. If their tail got hurt merpeople would have trouble swimming and when they stopped swimming they were as good as dead in the wild. 

She looked over her shoulder at her teammates, her movements slow, “We will need our biggest stretcher. I fear he's too large for that one as well but it's not like we have choice. We have to try and get this tank as close to the van as possible. He's way too heavy to carry there.”

Lee and Kiba both nodded and the cops that were still standing close told her about the fork truck that was standing nearby. She took a deep breath, they had the tools to actually move the tank. The only thing she was worried about now was the reaction of the mershark. He had been following her movements intently but had stayed still. She was worried about him lashing out once they would try to move the tank and also that he would become very wary of humans again. However, they didn't have a choice. A merman this large was simply too heavy. It didn't matter how strong Lee and Kiba were, it wouldn't be enough for this one. 

“Okay, let's get this over with.”

___

It had been messy. As expected, the mershark had lashed out when the tank was transported. She had been on the brink of deciding to sedate him but the only thing that had stopped her was the fact that sedations usually did more harm than good. She also didn't know if the smugglers had sedated him earlier and if that was the case, doing it again might be the worst thing to do. Getting him out of the tank had turned to be nearly impossible but they had managed. Now she was sitting next to him, making sure he stayed hydrated while Naruto drove them back to the rescue center. 

She gave him as much space as she could but really, this van wasn't build for merfolk his size so the space was pretty cramped. She was humming a song while the mershark was eying her warily. He hadn't tried to attack her or her team members, which was a relief. She felt as safe as she could be while being in a cramped space with a creature that could kill her with a flick of his tail or tear her throat out with his sharp teeth.

“I should figure out a name for you,” she mused. All the merpeople at the rescue center were named and usually they started reacting to their names pretty quickly. Their names could range from popular actors to the most creative things. Sometimes merpeople could even tell the humans what their names were. They currently had one mermaid named Ino, who had been saved a while ago. She had been captured when she was really young and had learned the human language and was able to communicate with the rescuers with simple words. These were rare cases though, and it usually concerned merpeople who had been living in captivity for a long time. 

The mershark wasn't reacting to her words and she knew that the chance of him understanding her was small. The male seemed to be relying on her body language alone, looking at the way his eyes flew to whatever part of her body was moving. She noted that his eyes had a dark gray color. His colors weren't as striking as for example Ino's colors. What also stood out to her now she was closer to him was the beauty mark under the left corner of his mouth. He was beautiful in her opinion. Beautiful but dangerous.

“Sakura, we're here,” Kiba's voice alerted her. When the doors opened Sakura saw several of her colleagues, waiting at safe distance. The rescue center was more active than usual for this time. Several employees had been contacted after the cops had called, everyone was ready to get the new mershark settled in his temporary home. To them it didn't matter that they were called out of their beds in the middle of the night, doing this was their passion and Sakura still couldn't believe her luck for ending up in a place like this.

Getting the mershark out of the van was a lot easier at the rescue center where they had the right equipment for it. It went a lot smoother and the mershark himself didn't move that much though he did hiss when some people got too close. He was first brought to a smaller tank where he could get examined. Tsunade was already waiting for them when they got there. Sakura had learned so many new things while working here, the medical aspect had been one of them. She had taken a few basic medicine courses back in university but Tsunade had taught her so much more. The woman had taken her as an apprentice after she noticed Sakura's passion and determination. Tsunade had been around even more when Sarutobi decided to retire and named Tsunade his successor. She had grumbled about it but had accepted it in the end.

The two of them worked quickly and efficiently. The wound Sakura had been worried about was carefully cleaned. It would scar but it wasn't like the mershark would really care about that. He allowed all their movements around him. He sometimes hissed again but Tsunade didn't seem that impressed by it. Sometimes Sakura worried that her mentor's nonchalant attitude would get her hurt one day but then Tsunade had so much more experience than her, perhaps the woman had some way of judging when the merpeople were serious with their threats and when not. 

“I will keep him here overnight just to be sure that nothing else is wrong but we should be able to move him to a larger aquarium in the morning,” Tsunade said while washing cleaning all the used equipment. “You should go back home and get some rest. Don't show up in three hours, the others can cover your shift for you.”

“I'm fine, I can do the shift,” Sakura said, despite knowing that it would probably be better to listen to Tsunade's advice. 

“No, you can't,” Tsunade looked at her sternly. “I need you at 100% and you won't be at that point if you're sleep deprived. Go to bed and get some hours of sleep. This one will still be here when you come back.”

Sakura glanced at the tank for a few seconds before nodding. She carefully crouched down next to the tank and watched the mershark swim around. He didn't seem to like the tank, which was bigger than the tank he had been in before but still smaller than what he was used to. She smiled sadly, no aquarium here would be as big as the oceans he was used to. She could only hope he could get rehabilitated quickly so they could release him back into the wild at soon as possible. 

The mershark stopped moving when he noticed her crouching down close to the tank and was watching her again. Sakura smiled, feeling confident that this one would be okay. 

“I'll see you once I get back, Sharky.”

She got up and started walking towards the door when all of a sudden she heard the sound of a tail smashing down on the water. The next second she was dripping wet. She quickly turned around, looking scandalized and ready to glare but the mershark had already disappeared again. 

Meanwhile Tsunade was laughing at her student's expression, “I think you're going to have to come up with a new name, Sakura.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura isn't worried. She really isn't worried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday Kakashi!

Sakura watched the mershark explore his new home. During the time she had slept Yamato had prepared the aquarium for its new inhabitant, so when Sakura returned they could quickly move the mershark to the larger and more appropriate tank. The gray-haired male had gotten the second largest aquarium they had. The largest already housed two merpeople, Itachi and Sasuke. Sakura would have preferred an outside exhibit but those were already occupied by merpeople who were almost ready to be released again. 

“You're doing well with him,” Tsunade had joined her and they watched the mershark explore together. “I want you to be his main caretaker.”

“What?” Sakura stared at her mentor shocked.

“He's in a better state than most merpeople are when they get here. He doesn't seem to be very aggressive and right now I don't think he's going to cause many problems. He's a perfect first merperson for someone like you,” Tsunade looked at her seriously. “Besides that, I believe you can do it and that you deserve it. You worked hard this past year and you handled the transportation very well, according to your team members.”

Sakura nodded, “Thank you. I won't let you down.”

Tsunade smiled, “It's not about letting me down. It's about not letting him down.”

She patted Sakura on the back before she walked away, leaving Sakura alone again. Her gaze went to the mershark who was now swimming close to all the observation windows. He watched to the few this tank had before he arrived at the one where she was standing. She smiled hesitantly at him but instead of mimicking her, a form of behavior many merpeople used, he frowned before moving away. 

Sakura sighed, she had hoped he had shown at least a bit of recognition but he had acted as if this was the first time he saw her. She realized that the imaginations she had had were nothing more than fantasies. She knew that but she had still hoped he would have done something today. Anything that would have shown he realized she had rescued him. 

Well, there was nothing she could do about it and instead of just standing around she might as well make herself useful. The mershark might be hungry, she had no idea when he was fed the last time by the smugglers. So getting him some food would be her first priority. 

The mershark was healthy enough to catch some living fish so that's what he would get. There was no point in feeding him dead fish, it would only slow down the rehabilitation process if he got used to just getting the fish. 

She knelt down next to his exhibit and released the fish into the water. She had counted them before, as it was the easiest way to see if he was eating. After she was done she went back to the observation room and got her notebook out. She had already filled in all the information she knew about him and was now ready to start documenting his behavior. Her eyes watched the tank eagerly but apart from the just-released fish, there was no movement yet. She couldn't see the whole tank from here. The exhibits were built so that the merpeople could have some privacy, this place wasn't meant as entertainment for people after all. It was normal for merpeople to hide for a while after they arrived at the rescue center. They had experienced a lot of stress and needed some time to rest. 

Sakura wasn't worried, he would show himself once he got hungry.

–

Sakura was getting worried. She had left to help out at other places, checking on the mershark every once. However, now she had returned, having finished all of the jobs, she still counted the same number of fish. She walked closer to the window and peered through the glass but saw nothing. For the first time, she felt frustrated with the privacy the merpeople got in the exhibits and it immediately made her feel guilty. The privacy was a good thing, she shouldn't feel frustrated because of it.

“Is everything going alright here?” Iruka, one of her colleagues came walking in. “I came to see our newest guest.”

“Well, good luck with that. He's been hiding the whole day,” Sakura said miserably. “I don't understand. He's healthy and we have no idea when he was fed for the last time. His first priority should be getting some food!”

“Yes, that is indeed the textbook answer,” Iruka commented, “but you've learned by now that merfolk rarely follow the textbook.” 

Sakura sat down and sighed, “So what am I supposed to do?”

“Just give him more time. It's very likely he will have eaten by the time you start your shift tomorrow. I know it is difficult. He's the first merperson you have full responsibility for. You're going to worry about him a lot but believe me, it does get less stressful once you've taken care of more of them,” Iruka encouraged her and then laughed. “If you're really worried, try adding some tuna. Maybe he just doesn't like mackerel.”

–

“Why aren't you eating?” Sakura glared at the fish that were still swimming around with no sign of the mershark. She was ready to go to Tsunade at this point, she just had no idea what to do. The fact that they didn't know when he had eaten for the last time made this even more problematic. 

“Sounds like you're having trouble.” 

“Tsunade!” Sakura turned around surprised. Her mentor was leaning against the door opening, watching Sakura with an amused smile. Her eyes flickered to the observation window after that and she seemed to be thinking. 

“I've seen a similar case once, where a completely healthy mershark refused to eat,” she finally said. “It turned he was just way too stressed and needed more time to adapt. You're worried, which is understandable but he might just need more time.”

Sakura nodded while still being worried, “That's what Iruka told me as well but it's just that most merfolk eat at least once a day and...”

“And how many days can a healthy mershark like him survive without food?” Tsunade interrupted her. 

“Biologists aren't sure but they assume up to two weeks,” Sakura's response came automatically. She had always been good at studying and she could easily sum up facts like these. She was quiet for a short time before adding, “However, it is definitely dangerous to go so long without food.”

“I want you to give him three more days,” Tsunade looked at her sternly. “Until then no complaining, no worrying. It will do no good, it will not make him eat. He will when he wants to. Now go take a shower and then go home, your shift ended an hour ago.”

“I will,” Sakura promised. She got up but decided to go upstairs once more before leaving. She could see more of the tank when looking down on the water. She saw some movement but couldn't get a good view. She muttered, “Are you shy or something? It's nothing to worry about, I've already seen it all.”

–

Two days after Tsunade told her not to worry Sakura arrived at the rescue center early. Out of habit, she went to the mershark's tank first, expecting to see the same view as all the other days. She stood at the observation window and her eyes sought the fish, ready to count all of them.

Before she could, however, she shrieked and jumped back when out of nowhere the mershark came racing to the window. He changed direction last minute but as he swam by Sakura could swear she saw him smirk. She quickly walked forward again, looking for the fish but apart from the mershark who was now disappearing again to the part of the tank she couldn't see, there was no movement at all. All the fish were gone. 

She ran upstairs, wondering if they might miraculously all be hiding from her but even when she looked down at the tank she couldn't spot any of the fish. It seemed like the mershark hadn't only decided to show himself again but had also finally decided to eat. 

“I've been worried about you for days and this is how you thank me? That's not the way a gentleman acts, Mr. Gray,” she exclaimed. 

Her eyes widened as she actually got a reaction. The mershark slowly swam up to her and his dorsal fin came out of the water for a few seconds before he disappeared completely underwater again. His movements looked almost lazy, a sharp contrast from the fast way in which he had approached the window before and it fooled her into thinking he was harmless.

Then, before she could move backward he smashed his tail on the water, leaving her soaked once more. Sakura just stared as he disappeared again, the water dripping to the floor.

“I am never going to worry about you again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank itslulu42 for giving me great advice!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura forgets rule #1 of dealing with merfolk.

“What would be a reason for him to keep splashing me?” Sakura sat next to Ino's tank, having sought out the mermaid's company in order to get some much-needed answers. The mershark had been behaving like this for a while now and she had decided to ask Ino for help since she had exhausted all her other sources with no results. She had read through all the merfolk books she owned, asked her colleagues and emailed old study buddies. She had even googled it and still didn't have the answer. Mersharks dedicated their whole lives to survival. They had no time to play, like for example merdolphins, so it wasn't that. He also hadn't achieved anything by splashing her, except for irritating her, so it wasn't for survival either. 

Ino thought about it for a while before finally speaking, “So he doesn't gain anything by it?”

Sakura shook her head, “For as far I know not.”

“And it wasn't an attack either? He didn't try to grab you or something?”

Sakura gave her a negative answer again.

Ino rested her head on her hands and looked into the distance for a while. It was quiet for a few minutes before she spoke again, “What were you doing right before he splashed you?”

“Just tasks that needed to get done. The last time it happened I was feeding him,” Sakura shrugged, not seeing where this was going.

“There has to be a similarity, something that all those situations had in common,” Ino insisted. “None of the mersharks I knew would do that kind of thing for no reason. They don't play or fool around.”

“He scared me once though,” Sakura commented. “He had no reason for that either.”

Ino raised her right eyebrow, urging Sakura to tell her more so Sakura shared the story. 

“I swear, he smirked when he swam away,” she ended the story.

Ino laughed, “He doesn't sound like an ordinary mershark.” 

“Honestly, I don't think he is,” she muttered, remembering all the odd things the mershark had done lately.

Ino sobered up, “Just be glad he isn't an orca. I would be worried if he was. Those assholes like to mess around with their prey before eating it.”

Sakura shuddered, she was very glad he wasn't a merorca. Then she thought of something else, “How long did it take you to learn human language?”

Ino glanced at her, “I was really young so I don't remember it that clearly. I started understanding your language pretty quickly though. Talking was the difficult part. Why are you asking?”

“Would it be possible that he's already starting to understand what I'm saying?” Sakura asked her.

“If he got into contact with humans much earlier than you think or if he's a genius, then maybe,” Ino nodded. “Do you think he's reacting to what you're saying?”

“He might be,” Sakura admitted. It had been slowly dawning upon her that even though the mershark had been acting as if he didn't understand her, there were just some things that didn't make sense if he couldn't understand her.

“So what is it that he's disagreeing on?” Ino asked, looking at her interested.

Sakura looked away before reluctantly admitting, “It might be the names I'm trying to give him.”

Ino started laughing again, “Are they that terrible?”

“They're not!” Sakura immediately denied. “They might just lack in creativity a bit.”

“Or,” Ino said, “he might already have a name and just doesn't appreciate you giving him a new one.”

Sakura paused and thought about it. Not all merpeople had names but sometimes they had. It was rare, but what if her mershark was one of those rare ones?

“How would I find out thought?” she asked Ino.

“His name?” the mermaid asked while slowly gliding back into the water. “Just ask him instead of trying to force one of your names on him. If he understands and isn't an asshole he will probably tell you.”

Then she dove underwater, leaving Sakura alone with her newly gained knowledge.

–

“Hey there,” Sakura spoke wile kneeling down next to the mershark's tank. Instead of releasing the fish immediately, like she usually did, she waited. It didn't take long for the mershark to show himself. Soon the upper part of his head appeared a few meters away, the rest of it hidden by the water.

After observing her for a few seconds he disappeared underwater again, only to reappear right in front of the place where she was waiting. He watched her curiously, probably wondering why she was acting differently. Meanwhile Sakura thought of how to voice her question. _Sorry for assuming you didn't have a name. Do you mind sharing it now? No, that was stupid._

While she was lost in her thoughts the mershark placed his hands on the plateau and pushed himself up so that their faces were at the same height. This shook Sakura out of her thoughts and their eyes met. Their faces were only a few inches apart and her breath got caught in her throat. It could have lasted only a few seconds or maybe a few hours, she wasn't sure at that moment but during that time she was lost in his eyes. Suddenly she understood the stories of people who survived merfolk attacks where the merfolk would lure the people in the water with them. She understood why those victims had passively allowed the merpeople to pull them underwater. If the mershark wanted to do that in this moment he could. He could pull her in and drown her and she would have let him.

Luckily he didn't. 

Instead, the mershark broke the eye contact to lean sideways and reach for the bucket containing the fish in order to pull it into the water. Sakura let him, unable to really think at that moment. The only thing that went through her mind was that his arm felt warm as it brushed against hers. It wasn't until some cold drops of water hit her when the mershark dove underwater to chase after the fish that she snapped out of the daze. 

She breathed in and suddenly the realization of it all downed on her. She had just abandoned all the rules of how to act when being in close proximity to merfolk. Rule #1: Always be aware when being around merfolk. They will have a difficult time luring you in if you stay aware. She hadn't been aware. She had been lost in her thoughts. She had left herself in a vulnerable position. He could have killed her. The mershark, whom she had stopped seeing as dangerous due to his behavior towards her, could have just killed her. 

“Sakura!” 

She turned her head towards the entrance and saw Kiba come chasing through, running as if he was followed by death itself. Before she could say something he was next to her and roughly pulled her away from the tank.

“Kiba, what are you doing?” she asked him once he stopped.

“Are you alright?” he inquired, completely ignoring her question. 

“I'm fine, what are you talking about?” Sakura was confused, what was Kiba doing here. 

“What am I doing here?” he exclaimed. “I came running here after seeing that mershark and you on the security camera footage. What were you thinking?!”

Oh.

Kiba had been watching the security camera footage. There was always one person assigned to watch the security footage in order to prevent people getting drowned. Some of the merpeople that were saved and brought here for rehabilitation were messed up and they would try to drown their caretakers. Kiba had seen the mershark get close to her and he must have assumed the worst. She would have assumed the worst if she had seen that. 

“I'm sorry,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. Damn it, she was the one who scared others, she had no right to start crying now. It was just that she suddenly realized everything that had just happened, she realized what could have happened. Even more now that she saw Kiba's reaction to it. 

“You're really okay?” Kiba asked her again. 

She nodded, “Yes, I'm fine. Nothing happened.”

The tension left Kiba's body but he still glanced back towards the tank with caution before looking back at her, “Let's go to Tsunade. We need to report this and she is more aware of the procedure after these sort of things. I'm not saying that I don't believe you when you say you're okay, but we're just going to check with Tsunade, okay?”

She nodded again and let him pull her up. She glanced back to the tank one more time before leaving the room. She didn't see the mershark, he was probably still chasing after the fish. She vaguely wondered about the bucket he had pulled into the water. They would have to retrieve that at some point. 

–

“What were you thinking?!” Tsunade was starting to lecture her after assuring that she was okay. Kiba had left them after telling Tsunade the story and making sure that Sakura wasn't hurt. Now it was just her mentor and her and Sakura had never felt more ashamed in Tsunade's presence. She was staring down at her hands while Tsunade went on with the lecture.

“I'm sorry,” she said once Tsunade fell silent. 

“I know you are, Sakura,” her mentor sighed, sitting down at her desk again. “But please tell me how this happened. Explain it to me.”

Sakura did. She retold the story of what happened while her mentor was listening intently to every word she spoke.

“You were aware of the fact that he would come looking for his food and yet you still forgot to be aware of your surroundings?” She didn't have to look at Tsunade to know the woman was frowning at her.

“Yes.”

She then continued her story. When she was done talking she slowly looked up to see Tsunade's face. There was disappointment, which she had expected, but there was also relief. 

“I'm glad you didn't get hurt,” her mentor softly said. “I do, however, have to require you to take someone with you for a while when you go to feed him.”

Sakura nodded. It was disappointing that she would be monitored again. She had been so proud when Tsunade appointed her as the main caretaker. However, this was necessary. 

“Go to the canteen and get some food. I'll assign someone to help you out, they will go to the canteen to get you and help you with your duties. Now, is there anything else I need to know?” 

“We need to retrieve the bucket from the tank,” Sakura remembered. "He pulled it into the water."

“Okay,” Tsunade smiled. “That's an issue we can focus on later. I want you to come and talk to me at the end of the day again Sakura. I'll see you then.”


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Sakura waited for Iruka in the locker room. She was still bumped that she wasn't allowed to go to the mershark on her own anymore but she understood the reasoning. This time nothing happened but that didn't mean nothing couldn't happen the next time. At least she worked with Iruka before, it made the whole arrangement a little less embarrassing. Iruka had been the one to show her the ropes when she began working at the rescue center. She just hoped he wouldn't be too disappointed in her for making the mistake. 

“Good morning, Sakura.”

Sakura lifted her head when she heard Iruka's greeting. The man looked surprisingly awake, even though it was only six in the morning and he didn't drink coffee. She couldn't pull herself out of bed this early if it wasn't for the coffee. It was a habit she had picked up in college and had never lost again. 

“Morning,” she greeted. “I'm sorry you had to get here early because of me.”

Iruka waved her apology away while changing into his working shoes, “It's fine. To be honest, I'm looking forward to getting to know your famous mershark. I haven't been able to spot him before, he's always hiding when I come to take a look.”

“Yes, hiding is something he likes to do,” Sakura muttered while walking towards the feeding room with Iruka to get the mershark his meal. 

“Cheer up.” Iruka smiled at her. “You're always free to help me out with Itachi and Sasuke if you want some more interaction. I have to warn you though, Sasuke has been throwing more tantrums lately.”

Iruka's main job at the rescue center was taking care of Itachi and Sasuke, two merorca brothers. They had been together since birth, so they had been placed in the same aquarium when they arrived at the rescue center. Merorcas had been hunted close to extinction in the wild due to the fact that they could perform all sorts of tricks after being trained. They were agile and could jump high. Once captured they often died quickly, however, and instead of taking a hint most aquatic parks paid poachers to get provide them with more.

Sakura used to go to those performances with her parents. They used to be the highlight of her day in the aquatic park. It had abruptly changed when she watched documentary that showed what went on behind the scenes. She had been horrified and the membership to the aquarium had been canceled the same day. 

Itachi and Sasuke had been captured when they were very young and forced to perform. She hadn't been working at the rescue center when they were brought in but she had read their files. Their days in the aquatic park were spent in tanks so small they could barely move. They had been kept separated and only saw one another during shows. The fact that they knew the other one was still there was probably the only thing that had kept them alive. When they first arrived at the rescue center they had been put in separate tanks as was normal for merpeople who didn't live in family groups, though the tanks had been close to one another. It hadn't lasted long because shortly after they had been placed in the tanks they had both jumped out and tried to get to one another, harming themselves in the process. From then on they had shared the same tank. 

“Well, if he keeps hiding I might take you up on that offer but as you know, last time he approached me so I have high hopes,” Sakura said before the two made their way upstairs. It was true, even if the mershark had only approached her because he was thinking she was too slow, he still had decided to show himself. He had even pulled himself partly out of the water, thus making him vulnerable. She was thinking he might be starting to trust her. 

However, the mershark didn't show himself after they released the fish, not even in order to go and catch his meal. It looked like she was back at stage one. 

–

Apparently she really was back at stage one. She hadn't spotted him since “The Incident,” as she had dubbed it. He was hiding again but at least he was eating this time, though not as much as she would have liked. Several fish survived each day but since he was still eating some of them there was not that much she could do. He might just have decided to not eat as much in order to save some fish for later, in case, they would stop feeding him. Many merpeople were cautious due to the conditions they had been forced to live in before. It was possible that the criminals who had been taking care of him before only fed him once every week so it would be logical to save some fish for later. It was also possible that he did it to give some more life to the empty tank. Of course there were plants and rocks to recreate the environment he used to live in before but they didn't supply smaller fish that would be there in the ocean. Some merpeople tried to feel more at home by leaving some fish alive, just in order to not be completely alone, even solitary merpeople. Or, in some cases, merpeople who were starting to get sick would eat less for a while until they got better.

Iruka had given her an explanation for why the mershark had suddenly gone into hiding again as well, “It might be because he doesn't know me. Mersharks like him tend to live on their own and don't like much company. He has gotten to know you but I'm new.” 

All in all, there were enough reasons for the mershark to return to his previous behavior and Sakura just had to accept that.

It wasn't until several days later that he finally showed himself to them. When Iruka and her entered the room the mershark's dorsal fin could be seen above the water, closely followed by his tail. Sakura's eyes lighted up and a smile appeared on her face as she turned to Iruka, who looked as happy as she felt. As they approached the platform the mershark lazily swam towards them. She was practically skipping towards the side, she just couldn't help it, he had finally decided to show up again. She had missed seeing him. 

As Sakura lowered the bucket to release the fish, the mershark's lazy behavior changed completely. His arm shot out and he forcefully made a grab for the fish. She felt one of Iruka's arms around her waist and saw his other hand grab the bucket, pulling them out of the mershark's reach. The mershark, who now appeared above the water, snarled angrily with his sharp teeth on display.

Sakura's eyes widened, she hadn't seen the mershark angry since the time they came to rescue him and the cops were making pictures of him with the flash of their phones on. That had been a valid reason to get angry, now however, she had no idea. 

“You okay?” Iruka was ignoring the mershark and instead focused on her. She could only nod, her eyes still on the mershark who was now swimming close to the platform agitated, his tail occasionally appearing above the water and sending water onto the plateau. 

“I'm going to try feeding him once more but if I get that same reaction I fear we're going to have to withhold his food for a few hours until he calms down,” Iruka told her while grabbing hold of the bucket that still contained all the fish. When the mershark noticed him he stopped thrashing in the water, instead he went completely still close to the plateau. She watched Iruka as he carefully started to kneel down but once again the mershark suddenly lunged for the bucket. Iruka, however, was prepared for it and took a step back again, not giving the mershark a chance to get get a hold of the bucket. 

Iruka shook his head with a frown on his forehead, “He's not getting his food now. It shouldn't be a problem anyway, there are still some fish left in the aquarium that he can catch if he's that hungry. I just don't understand why he seems to be so desperate for these fish. We have been feeding him regularly since he's been here.”

“Me neither,” Sakura whispered, her eyes on the form of the mershark, who was swimming in circles close to the platform as if he was waiting for them to come back. 

Iruka grabbed hold of her hand and helped her up, “Let's complete some other tasks first and we can come back in an hour or two. That will give him some time to calm down.”

As they walked towards the exit the mershark swam along with them for as long as he could. Once he reached the side of the tank he appeared above the water to snarl again, his eyes angry as he glared at them while they walked away with his meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank ivegotpurple (ao3)/purple-possibilities (tumblr) for being a great help this past week!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura learns new things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was very late due to a lot of reasons. University has been taking up a lot of my time, I've been ill, and I've had a very awkward experience during the weekend. Luckily I've survived all those things. Enjoy the new chapter!

Sakura quickly walked towards the tank, every now and then looking over her shoulder to see if anyone entered the hallway. She knew she wasn't supposed to be doing this, but after some research she came to the conclusion that the mershark might have reacted violently because of Iruka. Mermen tended to be very aggressive towards each other, and Kakashi may have seen Iruka as a threat. If that was the case, then going to him by herself would be the solution. Iruka had only been required to be with her when she went to the mershark so it had been easy to sneak away once they were supposedly done and he had other things to do. Some part of her felt bad about it, but she tried to remind herself that she needed to do what was best for the mershark.   
   
When Sakura entered the room, she saw the mershark slowly swim towards her, his dorsal fin breaking the surface. He didn't seem angry, his movements were back to his usual lazy way of swimming. In fact, he seemed to be moving even slower than she remembered. Then again, he hadn't seemed angry that morning either before they tried to feed him.   
   
She carefully made her way to the plateau, stopping far enough away from the edge so that the mershark wouldn't be able to grab her. The water rolled onto the plateau when he appeared above the water. They observed each other quietly for a while.   
   
It was the mershark who moved first.   
   
He placed his hands on the plateau, raising himself up from the water. Sakura's breath hitched in her throat, her mind flashing back to the last time he had pulled himself onto the plateau. In reaction to that thought, she took a step back. That wasn't going to happen again.   
   
The mershark merely cocked his head before slowly reaching out to Sakura with one hand. It wasn't an attack—that much was clear from the slow way in which he moved his arm. It was as if he didn't want to frighten her. He didn't look threatening at all right now. Instead, his actions resembled the way a young, shy child would ask for something by simply sticking their hands out. Only in this case it wasn't a toddler asking for something, it was a 220 centimeter long mershark with sharp claws and even sharper teeth.   
   
However, he was asking. Asking in probably the best way he could without a voice.   
   
Sakura remembered what one of her professors had told her back in college, “They have a reason for everything they do. You have to watch for factors which might be causing the change in their behavior in order to understand them, because most of them will not be able to voice their thoughts.”   
   
“What have you been trying to tell me, huh?” Sakura whispered, more to herself than to the mershark as her thoughts went back to how he had behaved that morning, compared to the previous days. Her eyes flickered from the bucket to his outstretched hand. It was a clear contrast to the last time he had been trying to get the fish.    
   
At Sakura’s lack of movement, the mershark seemed to decide it was up to him to close the distance. He placed his outstretched hand down again in order to push himself further onto the plateau and move towards her. Now, not only his upper body was out of the water, but part of his tail as well. He was placing himself in a more vulnerable position by doing that. No matter how fast merpeople were in the water, on land they became slow.   
   
This mershark was willing to place himself in such a precarious position. All the while, he seemed to try to make his body appear smaller than it actually was. He was obviously trying to appear as nonthreatening as possible. He was making an effort. Sakura decided she should do the same thing.   
   
Sakura knelt down and slowly pushed the bucket towards the mershark. This time she had brought dead fish with her, instead of the normal living fish. It was much easier to sneak some of the already dead fish out without being seen, so that was what she had chosen. One time wouldn't matter, anyway.   
   
“Leave the bucket here,” Sakura warned him. “We still need to get the other one out of your tank as well.”   
   
The mershark seemed too impatient to wait and moved forward again, only stopping when he could reach for the bucket. He pulled it towards himself and started devouring the pieces of fish right there on the plateau, instead of slipping back into the water.   
   
It was Sakura's first chance in a while to observe the mershark from up close. The wound on his chest was slowly healing. In a few weeks, a scar would be the only reminder that it had been there at all.   
   
Sakura frowned when she noticed he was breathing quickly. He hadn't exerted himself enough to be so out of breath. Her eyes went to his face. She hadn't seen him often enough recently to be completely sure, but he seemed to look paler as well.   
   
Sakura slowly moved closer to the mershark, whose eyes immediately met hers when he noticed her movements. His expression grew wary and he started to move away from her, back to the water. Right before he had completely slid back into the water, however, his face contorted in pain, his hand clutching his chest as he coughed a few times. She reacted to that as she had been trained to do by moving towards the mershark in order to find out what was wrong. Before she could reach him, however, he had already disappeared under the surface.   
   
Instead of hoping to catch a glimpse of him from there, Sakura grabbed the bucket, vaguely noticing the mershark hadn't eaten everything as she practically ran towards the observation room. The next hour was spent trying to spot the mershark and check for more signs of illness.   
   
The moments where she could see him were brief, but what she did see worried her. He was swimming slower than usual; the fish that were still in the tank were moving quicker than he was and were easily evading him. By now she was almost certain he was paler than usual. He also went up to the surface more often than he had to. It wasn't until he went up for the second time in close succession, his body shaking as he coughed, that Sakura decided she had seen enough. She left swiftly to find Tsunade, who immediately gave the green light to move him out of the tank, back to the medical area.   
   
Once the mershark was out of the water, it became more obvious he was ill. He was more timid than Sakura had ever seen him, and he coughed often. His skin also felt too warm when she touched him while getting him on the stretcher.   
   
Sakura watched quietly from the side while Tsunade examined the mershark. Her mentor sighed when she was done, “It's an infection. Those bastards probably didn't even check the water quality. The only thing that surprises me is that he was able to hide it for so long.”   
   
One look at Sakura was enough for Tsunade to change her harsh tone, “It's not your fault. Mersharks are very private in general, and from all the stories I've heard, this one takes it to a whole new level. He's just been far more difficult than I anticipated. I made a miscalculation.” Her eyes returned to the mershark. “I'm going to give him some antibiotics now. After that it's up to him. Don't look so down, he's way too stubborn to go down because of some bacteria.”    
   
Tsunade walked over to Sakura and patted her head. It was something she usually did when Sakura was feeling down. Sakura forced herself to smile. When she looked up, she noticed the mershark was looking at them and had seen the exchange. Sakura nodded, more for herself than Tsunade. She would stay here until he was better; it was the least she could do.   
   
   
Sakura watched the mershark as he fought the illness. They had put him in a shallow tank, meant only for merpeople who would not be able to keep swimming by themselves. There was enough water to keep him hydrated, but it wasn't deep enough that he could drown in it. He was still able to swim when they got him out of his tank, but no one wanted to take the risk. The mershark hadn't moved much since they placed him in it, and the lack of movement only proved that this was the best option.   
   
Tsunade had told Sakura that she didn't have to stay, but Sakura had insisted. After that, she had been left alone with the mershark. It had already been late in the day when Sakura had brought the mershark in for treatment, and by now, most people had gone home. Only the people working the night shift were still in the building, and they wouldn't come near the medical area unless there was a reason for them to.   
   
“Are you hungry?” Sakura asked. It was more for herself than for the mershark. She knew that at this point the most she could do was wait, but she was itching to do something. She finally understood why he had been so desperate for the fish that morning. He had wanted to get a hold of them before they could swim freely, since he would have to use a lot of energy to catch them—if he could catch them at all.   
   
The mershark turned away from her when she reached for the bucket, and she dropped her arm. She sighed dejectedly, “You don't really like me, do you? I can understand that though. I've done so many things wrong.” She looked down at her hands. “I should have noticed you were ill sooner. You made it pretty difficult for me by hiding, though.”   
   
Sakura bit her lip. Her eyes were stinging, and before she could compose herself, the first tear escaped. She tried to stay quiet, but out of the corner of her eye she saw the mershark slowly turning his head towards her. His dark eyes seemed to look for something as he observed her while she cried, as if she was a mystery that needed to be solved.   
   
“Ka-ka-shi.”   
   
Sakura’s head flew up to stare at the mershark. For a second she thought she had just imagined the voice, but the mershark opened his mouth and slowly pronounced each syllable again, “Ka-ka-shi.”   
   
Speaking seemed to be difficult for him, and he didn't say anything else. Instead, he simply turned his head away from her again after he had made sure she had heard him, leaving her sitting dumbfounded next to him.   
   
“Kakashi?” Sakura repeated, once she had overcome her surprise. It could only really be one thing but she asked him anyway. “Is that your name?”   
   
The mershark moved his hand lightly through the water, and a few drops landed on her cheek. It was as close to splashing her as he could get right now. While he still wasn't looking at her, she realized that he might not hate her as much as she thought he did.

Sakura then realized that she was smiling, even though she was sitting here next to him in the middle of the night while was fighting off an infection. However, all of a sudden, the situation didn't seem as serious as it had before. She realized she wasn't the only one who was convinced he would survive. For the mershark—for Kakashi—this was only a temporary problem. He was probably imagining being back home, in the ocean. It wasn't as if something as minor as this would stop him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank my amazing beta!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura sees a different side of Kakashi.

Sakura lightly swiped at the water in Kakashi’s tank with her hand, letting the mershark know she was there. A few of the cool droplets splashed up and landed on her cheek, but she barely even noticed; she had dealt with worse by now. 

Kakashi had been back in his tank for about two weeks and the duo had easily fallen into an amicable routine. No more unusual behavior or hiding for days. Sakura was glad; all the worrying couldn't have been healthy for her. 

After a few seconds, Kakashi's head appeared only a couple of meters away. Sakura gently patted the plateau next to her, looking at the mershark expectantly. He frowned and shook his head before allowing himself to sink deeper into the water. Only the upper part of his face was visible now, his eyes looking up at her sullenly. 

Sakura sighed, “I know you don't like it, but I need to do a check-up. We already skipped one two days ago, and Tsunade will have my head if I skip this one as well.” 

Kakashi didn't look convinced but pushed his face above the surface again. “Fine.” 

“Fine?” Sakura's eyes widened. It was the first time Kakashi had spoken since the night he told her his name. By now she had figured out that he could understand what she was saying perfectly. Talking was more difficult for him though, and the mershark seemed to prefer not to speak if it wasn't necessary. Now that he finally was speaking, his response seemed contradictory, which made it more confusing. “If it's fine then come here.” 

Kakashi shook his head. He moved his hands up, first placing one hand on his forehead, then motioning to his body, agitated. “Fine,” he insisted. 

“Oh,” Sakura understood him. She gave him a hopeful smile. “I still need to check. I can give you some octopus afterward.” 

Kakashi glared at her, clearly not happy that she tried to bribe him with treats. 

“Okay then, what is it that you want?” 

“Out,” was his simple response. 

Sakura paused at that, unsure how to react. It was logical, really; of course he wanted to get out of here. That was their goal as well. They wanted to release him back into the wild. She had just forgotten about that for a while. 

“We want that as well,” she finally said. “But you have to be healthy. Will you come here so I can check?” Kakashi frowned. “Please?” she added. 

Kakashi moved towards her, pushing himself up onto the plateau. Sakura moved aside to give him more space. He eyed her medical tools warily, but settled down when he didn't see any needles. Sakura worked quickly, every once in a while scribbling her findings down. 

Kakashi had completely recovered; Sakura already knew that. He looked healthy, and was as quick as he used to be before the illness really set in. Tsunade had told her that if he was completely healed, they would move him to one of the outdoor tanks. Those tanks were the last step before release. With wild fish freely swimming in for the merpeople to catch, it was a final test to see if they were ready. She already knew Kakashi would pass with flying colors. 

“I'm done,” Sakura said quietly. Kakashi observed her, his gray eyes focused on her face. She gave him a weak smile. He shook his head at her and dropped his tail in the water, only to flick it out again so that they were both showered in droplets of water. When she didn't respond to that, Kakashi’s frown deepened. He slowly reached out then and patted her on the head. 

Sakura's head shot up, “Why did you—?” 

He shot her a soft smile before sliding back into the water. 

__ 

 

“Hey Sakura!” Naruto dropped down next to her, drawing her attention away from the reports she had been reading. “You must be proud.” 

Naruto was referring to Kakashi. As Sakura had expected, Kakashi was thriving in the outdoor tank. He seemed happier as well, as far as she could tell. He had more space, and it was part of the ocean. There was life all around him. 

This also meant that Sakura had been spending more time doing other things. Tsunade had encouraged her to continue studying merperson medicine and Sakura was thinking of applying for a course to specialize herself. Learning more about merpeople in the wild was still a dream of hers. Sakura loved working at the rescue center, but studying wild merpeople as a marine biologist was something she had wanted to do for years now. Until then, the next best thing was keeping up with the findings of biologists who actually did that. All in all, Sakura was busier than ever before. 

“I know you've been busy,” Naruto continued. “I've heard all the stories; that merman has been causing you quite some trouble, hasn't he? On top of that, you read books.” 

Sakura laughed at Naruto's face. The boy still wasn't a fan of books. “You could say that. He's been on my mind a lot the past few weeks. It's hard to believe he's been here for such a short time.” 

“You care about him,” Naruto stated, closely watching her expression. 

“Of course I do,” Sakura said. “I care for all merpeople.” 

Naruto gave her a look. 

“What?!” she exclaimed. “I do care for all of them.” 

“I never said you didn't but...” Naruto trailed off. She knew the look on his face; he was collecting his thoughts. She really wished he wouldn't. She feared it would go in a direction she had been stubbornly pushing away for a while now. 

“The last time I saw you like this was with Sasuke, you know,” Naruto finally said. “I thought you might want to talk about it.” 

Sakura frowned, “That's not true.” Sure, she had had a crush on Sasuke, but that had been it. Yes, sometimes she was mesmerized when she got close to Kakashi, but that was partly because he was a beautiful mershark, and partly because of The Incident. It was completely different. 

“If you say so.” Naruto didn't look convinced, however. 

__ 

 

Sakura sat down next to Kakashi's tank and trailed her fingers through the cold water. When he arrived, she smiled at him. 

“I've got some good news,” she said. As usual, Kakashi's face didn't betray any emotion, no curiosity at all. “Won’t you indulge me?” 

The mershark merely cocked his head to the side. 

“I’ll just tell you,” Sakura muttered before composing herself again. “We've started planning your release!” 

That gave Sakura a reaction. Kakashi visibly perked up, his gaze shifting to the ocean that lay behind him for a moment. She could imagine that while the outdoor tank was preferable to the indoor tank for Kakashi, at the same time, it was so close to being free, yet not. He was still in a limited space, and what he wanted was just out of reach. 

“When?” Kakashi sounded eager as he managed to get the word out. 

“We're not sure of the exact date yet. Soon though,” Sakura promised him. 

The mershark nodded, lost in thought. Sakura took the opportunity to look at him. She didn't know how much longer she’d have to do that, after all. 

After her conversation with Naruto, Sakura had become far more aware of Kakashi, her eyes always focusing on his form whenever he was near. It was becoming a habit, and she wasn't exactly sure whether it was a good or a bad one. When Kakashi suddenly moved, she shook herself out of the almost hypnotic-like state she had been in. Kakashi had moved closer to her, eyes peering up at her questioningly. 

“It's nothing,” Sakura whispered, feeling embarrassed at being caught staring. Knowing herself, she had probably started blushing as well. Kakashi didn't seem to buy it, and his hand went to her forehead. It was similar to how she had checked if he still had a fever when he was ill. 

“I'm fine,” Sakura pushed his hand away, turning even redder. 

It was then that Kakashi decided to try something else. He grabbed the hand she was using to push him away and, before she knew it, he had pulled her into his tank. Sakura immediately pushed herself to the surface and coughed, trying to get the water out of her lungs. He had taken her by surprise, and she had swallowed some of the ocean water. She grimaced at its salty taste before turning to glare at Kakashi. Her glare turned searching when she didn't see him. 

Sakura suppressed a yelp when she felt something brush against her leg, and pulled the limb back out of reflex. It also made her realize that, according to procedure, she should quickly get out of the water. By now someone was probably worriedly running over. However, she didn't feel unsafe, even with Kakashi obviously swimming close to her. 

Sakura carefully started swimming back to the plateau. When she reached it, she tried climbing out. She was having trouble with it, however, due to the platform being slippery from the water that had splashed up when she fell. When she slipped backwards into the tank, Sakura was suddenly hoisted upwards, now easily able to make her way out of the water and onto land. 

Sakura was about to thank Kakashi when she remembered it was his fault she was in the water in the first place. “Why did you do that?!” 

Kakashi reached out to press his hand to her forehead once again, and seemed oddly satisfied when he pulled it back. 

“I told you I was fine,” Sakura muttered, trying to fix her hair as best as she could. “There was no need to pull me into the water.” 

“Sakura!” 

Sakura and Kakashi's heads moved to see Naruto jogging towards them. Apparently he was the one that had been monitoring the security footage. She was relieved it wasn't someone else; they would have completely freaked out, but Naruto seemed to think it was all okay. He laughed at her once he was close enough to really take in her appearance. 

“Yeah, just laugh,” Sakura glared at Naruto until she caught a flicker of movement from the corner of her eye. She didn't even try to dodge—she was soaking wet already. But Naruto—who wasn't used to this particular behavior—caught the brunt of it when Kakashi’s tail sent the water their way. 

Sakura burst into laughter at Naruto's expression. When she finally managed to compose herself, her gaze landed on Kakashi. He was staring in awe, as if he had just seen the most beautiful thing in the world. For a second she wondered if he had been looking at her, or if it was something else entirely. 

“It's not funny!” Naruto's whine broke the spell Sakura and Kakashi had been under. She shifted her gaze to Naruto, not noticing how Kakashi's expression soured as he lost her attention to Naruto, again. 

“Why did you do that?!” Naruto focused on Kakashi. The mershark hissed in response, his eyes glaring at Naruto angrily, teeth on full display. Kakashi had even raised his upper body from the water, making himself look more intimidating. 

Naruto inadvertently took a step back, bowing his head slightly and breaking their eye contact at the threatening display. “Sakura, get over here,” he ordered in a low tone. 

Sakura glanced back at Kakashi. The mershark wasn't looking at her, his attention and anger completely focused on Naruto instead. “I think I'll be fine,” she said softly. 

Naruto's head shot up in surprise, “Wha—” 

Kakashi launched forward, his claws scratching on the plateau as he pushed himself out of the water in one powerful movement. The only reason Naruto didn't lose any limbs was because Sakura's body automatically moved to intercept. Kakashi, seeing the movement from his side, slowed down enough for Naruto to jump backwards. 

“Naruto, just go. He's not angry at me,” Sakura said calmly, putting emphasis on the 'me'. 

“But—” 

“He's not going to attack me!” she snapped. 

Naruto's shoulders slumped, “Okay then. If you say so.” 

Kakashi’s eyes followed Naruto's retreat warily, until the boy was completely out of sight. Then, as Sakura expected, the tension in his body disappeared, and he turned to face her. She didn't know how to act right now; she was angry because of what had just happened, but at the same time, some part of her tried to stay calm. She needed to follow procedure right now. 

“Are you hurt?” Sakura asked Kakashi. He shook his head in response. “Get back in the water.” 

The mershark obediently followed her command. Once he was in the water, Sakura pushed herself up, saying, “I'm leaving.” Then she started to walk away. 

“Sa-ku-ra.” 

Sakura stopped and slowly turned around. If it had been any other moment, she would have been delighted and completely ecstatic. It would have made her smile. He had just said her name for the first time. Not now though. Now, she was upset with him and needed time to think. 

“I'm leaving,” she repeated. Before she had fully turned away, she saw Kakashi move, pushing himself up as if he wanted to get out of the water to follow her. 

“You stay here!” It was the second time within a few minutes that she snapped at someone. It was the first time she had ever snapped at Kakashi. He slowly dropped back into the water, the confusion clear on his face as he watched her walk away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to my beta again. We worked a lot on this chapter together!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura says goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, I update on a Tuesday!

“There’s nothing to be gained from punishing Kakashi in any way,” Tsunade said, looking up from the report she had been reading. “The question is though, what could have caused that sudden change in behavior?”   
   
Sakura bit on her lip, unsure of what to tell her mentor. In the time she had before she was summoned to Tsunade's office, she had been wondering over that very question, and had slowly connected the dots. Or at least she thought she had.   
   
“I think he might have seen Naruto as a threat.”   
   
“A threat for what?”   
   
“A threat for me,” Sakura admitted, apprehensively.   
   
Tsunade sighed, “This not the first time something like this had happened, Sakura, and it won’t be the last. Only an idiot would deny the fact that caretakers and merpeople often develop a bond after spending so much time together. As long as it's one-sided, it's fine.”   
   
Sakura glanced up from where she had nervously been looking at her hands, “You're not mad?”   
   
“You did your job well enough that Kakashi developed a bit of a crush on you. What is there to be mad about?” Tsunade leaned forward and shuffled through some of the documents on her desk, handing Sakura one when she found what she was looking for. “Besides, he's ready for release, so it won't be an issue for much longer.”   
   
Sakura stared at the document. It contained all the information about Kakashi's release. The date that was scheduled was a week from now.   
   
“Before we release him, he's going to be tagged. That way we'll know if he ends up someplace he's not supposed to be,” Tsunade told her after she gave Sakura a few seconds to look over the document. “Now make sure he doesn't attack anyone else during his last week.”   
   
__   
   
   
Sakura didn't visit Kakashi until the next day. While walking towards his outdoor tank, she noticed something on the plateau. She tried to identify what it was, but it wasn't until she got very close that she realized it was two dead fish. She frowned as she looked them over. Nothing appeared to be wrong with them. There was no reason for Kakashi to throw them out.  Maybe they had jumped out of the water?   
   
“Kakashi, you missed two,” she called out before throwing both fish back into the tank. Kakashi appeared shortly after at the spot where the fish hit the water. He slowly made his way over to her, his eyes never meeting hers. Instead, he looked slightly to the side.  
   
Sakura sighed, “Look, I'm not mad anymore. You can't attack people though, okay?”   
   
The mershark nodded slowly. Apparently he didn't like having to agree to that, but he didn't want her to get angry with him again.   
   
“I have something else to tell you.” Sakura decided it might be best to change the topic to something happier. “You are going to be released in a week!”   
   
Kakashi cocked his head, an action he normally did when something didn't make sense to him.   
   
“Seven days?”   
   
Kakashi perked up at that and nodded, a small smile appearing on his face.   
   
“Don't get too excited, though. You have to be tagged first and I'm afraid you won't like it.”   
   
__   
   
   
Seven days had flown by in no time at all. Sakura was now watching Kakashi as he was slowly lowered from the ship they used to transport merpeople being released, and placed into the ocean proper. She herself was in the water, in order to remove the straps that secured him in place. Kakashi's eyes were sparkling; every now and then it looked as if he couldn't contain his excitement and he just had to move.   
   
“Easy,” Sakura said when he was within reach. “Just a little bit longer.”   
   
Sakura quickly started unlatching the straps that had secured Kakashi, one by one. She had to be extra careful, as the mershark’s movements had increased now he that could actually feel the water on his skin.    
   
Once she removed the final strap, Kakashi was free. He immediately moved away and disappeared underwater. Behind her, Sakura could vaguely hear some of the crew on the ship clapping. She herself glanced around, but she couldn't see Kakashi anywhere.   
   
“Sakura,” Naruto, who had been in a dinghy close to Sakura, reached out to help her out of the water. She accepted his assistance and let herself be pulled in. Her eyes immediately went back to the water, looking for the familiar dorsal fin or gray hair, but all that could be seen was calm water.   
   
Did Kakashi leave without saying goodbye? Sakura hadn't expected anything grandiose, but this was a bit too anticlimax for her. They had spent so much time together. They had developed a bond, hadn’t they? Where was he now?    
   
After one more sweeping glace across the water, she gave up. It looked like Kakashi really left, just like that.   
   
“Let's go, Naruto.”   
   
“Sa-ku-ra.”   
   
Sakura turned around so quickly, she nearly lost her balance. Kakashi was looking at her from the water. He held something out towards her in his hand. Curiously, she moved closer, until she could see what it was. He handed it over to her immediately, cautiously looking at her reaction.  
   
“A pearl?” she questioned. “What did you get this for?”   
   
“For you,” he said in his raspy voice.   
   
Her eyes widened and a smile appeared on her face. He had given her a farewell gift. He did care. “Thank you.”   
   
Kakashi seemed satisfied with her reaction, but then held out his hand towards her again.   
   
“You want it back?” Sakura was officially confused.   
   
Kakashi shook his head before reaching out and gently grabbing her wrist, so that his claws wouldn't scratch her skin. He gave a very soft pull, not enough to make her move, but enough to make his intentions clear. He was asking her to come with him.  
   
“I... I can't,” Sakura whispered.  Her smile had completely disappeared.   
   
Kakashi frowned, his hand still around her wrist. Sakura could see Naruto reaching for something out of the corner of her eye. Perhaps something to scare Kakashi off if it was necessary. She really hoped it wouldn't be.   
   
“Sa-ku-ra,” Kakashi repeated, this time more demanding. His grip on her wrist tightened slightly, though still being careful not to hurt her. She was aware that it could be different. However, he chose to be gentle with her.   
   
“I'm sorry,” she softly said. “I can't come with you. You live out here in the ocean, but I'm human. I can't live out here. I’ll die.”  
   
Sakura would be unable to give Kakashi what he wanted. Even if part of her wanted to take his hand, she knew it would be the stupidest thing she could do. He was a mershark, unable to live on land. She was a human, she needed to be on land. She couldn't swim forever. Even if she could, her body just wasn’t made to be constantly submerged into water. What he wanted just wasn't possible.   
   
“I have to go,” she stated, proud at how firm her voice sounded.   
   
Kakashi's expression fell, and it hurt Sakura to see him like this. She wanted him to be happy. She wanted to see that excitement in his eyes again. There was no way that she could bring that happiness back again, though.    
   
Sakura carefully placed her other hand on his, and slowly pried his fingers open one by one. She was relieved he allowed her to do that without a fuss. She felt a little lost when she had both her hands back, staring morosely at the obviously heartbroken mershark in front of her. However, it was time to say goodbye.   
   
“You'll be fine out here, Kakashi. I'll miss you though,” she forced a smile on her face. He didn't return it, choosing to look away instead.   
   
Sakura turned her head to face Naruto and nodded once, indicating that he should start the motor on the dinghy. It was time to go back to the rest of the crew; she had fulfilled her duty.    
   
She looked back once, right before climbing on the ship, but Kakashi wasn't there anymore.   
   
__   
   
   
“Are you okay?” Naruto asked Sakura when they got back to the rescue center. He had left her alone during the ship’s return journey, and had probably told the others to give her some space as well. No one had come to talk to her for the last few hours.   
   
Sakura took a deep breath, saying, “I think so.”   
   
Naruto gave her a worried look, which she returned with a smile. “I'll be fine Naruto.” The thing was, she really believed she was going to be fine. Just like she knew Kakashi was going to be fine. It would all just take some time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My beta is awesome and teaches me new stuff with every new chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wanted to post this on Christmas Eve but for some reason I couldn't log in. Therefore, it is an extremely late Christmas present now. Better late than never!

Sakura breathed in the salt air, exhaling happily. It didn't matter that she'd been waking up on this ship for a few days now, it was still an amazing experience. She was on a research vessel, filled with people who had similar ambitions as herself. During this particular expedition, the researchers were working together as one big team, focused on observing and learning more about merpeople socialization and behavior and human-merpeople interactions. 

 

Due to shift segregation, Sakura didn’t see everyone. Instead, they worked in smaller teams. There was a small group of people she interacted with daily. There was Tenten, with whom she shared a cabin, and was the senior researcher Sakura was usually partnered with. Neji was the most senior researcher aboard, and the lead researcher in charge. Shikamaru and Shino were fellow researchers who worked similar shifts as Sakura herself. Finally, there was Chouji, one of the ship’s cooks, and a talented one at that. 

 

Two days ago, their team had come across a pod of merdolphins, and had been following them ever since. The merdolphins weren't shy; in fact they were quite interested in the humans aboard the ship. They also enjoyed playing on the waves the ship created. 

 

Sakura walked to the reeling and tried to spot some of the merdolphins, but none were currently in sight. All that could be seen was the ocean, stretching out into the horizon. 

 

Still, Sakura couldn't help but smile. This was what she had been dreaming of since she was a teenager, and the reality was even better than she had imagined. The biggest downside of it all was that she had to give up her job at the rescue center. She had loved her work there, but a few months after Kakashi had been released, Tsunade suggested that Sakura should start looking around again. 

 

While still working at the rescue center, Sakura had returned to university part-time. Going back to school had also helped her start networking again, and in the end, that was what landed her the job. Well, that and a very positive recommendation letter from Tsunade. With another degree under her belt, Sakura set out to sea as a marine biologist with a specialization in merfolk. It was a dream come true. 

 

– 

 

Sakura and Tenten, her diving buddy, noted the other researchers’ location in the water before focusing on the merdolphins. The pod had moved away a bit when they noticed the humans entering the water. Soon enough, however, the boldest ones came darting towards them, the others following quickly after. Sakura and Tenten were approached by three younger merdolphins. They appeared to be around twelve years old, had they been human. 

 

As it was with many things regarding merfolk, little was known about how they aged. The only thing experts agreed upon was that merfolk could live much longer than humans could. Not that such knowledge was gleaned from merpeople kept in captivity—they often died soon after being captured. The oldest merperson found in the wild had been a mershark, who was around 250 years old. The differences between species also made it more difficult to get a good idea about the aging process. The fact that the few merpeople who could speak a human language were unwilling to share the information didn't help. 

 

The three merdolphins played with Sakura and Tenten for a while, excited to have new friends. Sakura noticed one of the crew members swimming around with a camera, recording the scene. He was part of another small group of researchers working the same shifts. As they usually didn't work at the same time she wasn't very familiar with him. 

 

The first few days of the expedition, their team had focused their research on the merpeople’s interactions among themselves. However, due to a growing interest in how merfolk in the wild interacted with humans, this had become a secondary goal of the research. 

 

The three merdolphins were easy to distinguish from one another due to the difference in appearance. One of them was close to the “traditional” appearance of merpeople—human from the stomach and upwards, with a dolphin tail instead of legs. The second one didn't have human flesh until after their dorsal fin, stretching towards their head. The final merdolphin didn't have human skin at all, but did have a human torso, arms, and head. It was fascinating to see all these differences, even among merdolphins from the same pod, who shared same skin and hair color. 

 

Suddenly, an elder merdolphin called out, their expression grim. The younger ones immediately retreated back to their brethren before the entire pod fled, leaving Sakura and Tenten by themselves. Sakura looked around, searching for the cause of the sudden change in behavior and abrupt disappearance of the merdolphins. Her eyes focused on a dark shape swimming towards them at an alarmingly fast speed. 

 

Tenten motioned that they had to resurface quickly and get out of the water, thus following the other duos who were already swimming towards the surface. Sakura followed her partner up, but before she could reach the surface, she was hit. When Sakura focused on the creature, she realized it was a mershark—more shark then human—who was much bigger than herself. The mershark was the most shark-like merman she had ever seen. He didn't have any human skin or hair. He also had gills, which meant that this mershark—unlike many other merpeople—wouldn't be able to breathe above water. 

 

The mershark was already turning around, seemingly ready to attack again. Sakura's mind was racing, trying to remember the classes she had taken which focused on safety near merpeople. The classes were mostly centered on the fact that merpeople were intelligent. “If you show them you're not a threat, or prey in some cases, they will leave you alone.” However, Sakura was pretty sure she had done nothing to provoke this merperson. 

 

Sakura cursed at herself when the mershark charged towards her again; her time was up. She tried to move out of the mershark’s way at the last minute, but was only partly successful. His claws scratched at her left arm before Sakura managed to clear his path. The mershark made a sharp turn, and she knew she had to get away quickly. 

 

However, before the mershark could attack her again, he was forced away from her by another merman, who crashed bodily into the mershark. 

 

At the same time, Sakura felt a hand close around her right arm, pulling her up to the surface. 

“Sakura!” Neji called out to her the moment Sakura resurfaced. The small dinghy came towards her, probably moving quite fast, but to her it felt like ages. She was breathing quickly, her heart racing in her chest. She needed to get out of the water. 

 

“It's okay,” a feminine voice said soothingly from behind Sakura. She spun around to come face to face with a mermaid, likely the person responsible for pulling her to the surface. The mermaid had interesting purple marks on her cheeks; Sakura hadn't seen anything like it before. The mermaid smiled. “The boys will keep him occupied.” 

 

“Sakura!” Neji was reaching out to her from the dinghy, ready to pull her on board. 

 

The mermaid helped Sakura get out of the water and on the dinghy before turning away again. Before she left, she said, “I'm going to see how they're doing.” 

 

Neji didn't pay attention to the mermaid. “To the ship,” he said, his face serious. “Sakura is bleeding.” 

 

Sakura frowned, her eyes going to her left arm, which Neji had just finished inspecting. Like he had said, she was bleeding from a series of shallow lacerations. It must have happened when the mershark scratched her. She didn't feel it yet, still too wound up by a mix of shock and adrenaline for the pain to register. 

 

Tenten looked at Sakura guiltily. “I'm sorry you were in there alone. I didn't notice you weren't behind me until I got in the dinghy.” 

 

“It's okay,” Sakura assured her. “It's not as if you could have done anything. I don't know what was wrong with that mershark, but there was no reasoning with him. I guess I was lucky some others helped out. Did you see what species they were?” 

 

The others shook their heads in the negative, but their focus was quick to return to Sakura’s wellbeing. The bleeding wasn't that bad, but the doctor would have to look at it. 

__ 

 

“Was the mershark that attacked Sakura tagged?” Neji asked, looking at the small group of people gathered in the meeting room. It was their usual group. 

 

Shino nodded. “It's a mershark that has been involved in other human attacks. Sakura is lucky that she got away with just a scratch; he has done much worse. What is surprising, though, is that this is quite far from the place he was last spotted.” 

 

“What about the merpeople who saved her?” Shikamaru asked, leaning back in the chair with his hands in his pockets. 

 

“Just one. This is interesting though. He stayed at the rescue center Sakura used to work at. Here’s his information,” Shino handed Sakura the tablet. 

 

Sakura’s eyes flew over the information. It should have been impossible. She had said goodbye, convinced that she would never see him again, yet here he was, showing up when she most needed him. 

 

Kakashi. 

 

Sakura pushed herself up and ran to the deck. 

 

“Sakura?!” she heard some of her colleagues call out. She would explain later. Right now she just needed to confirm if it was true. Some part of her knew it had to be—there was no way the information of the tag was incorrect—but still, she needed visual confirmation. She just hoped he was still around. 

 

Sakura didn't stop running until she reached the rail. She stared out across the ocean and saw nothing but water. There was no Kakashi, with only the upper half of his face visible above the water, as he always used to do. It was a bit disappointing, but there was still another way for her to check if he was around. 

 

“What are you doing?” Neji walked up to her, Tenten and Shikamaru right behind him. The former looked worried, while the latter only muttered, “Troublesome.” 

 

“Can we please get back into a dinghy?” Sakura asked as she turned to face Neji. 

 

Neji calmly regarded her. “Why?” 

 

“I need to check if the mershark that saved me is still be around. I think he might be.” Sakura already knew that it wouldn't be enough of a reason for Neji to allow her to go back out. She still had to try, though. 

 

Neji was silent, observing Sakura intently, before he finally spoke, a small smile appearing on his face. “And you think that it might be useful to our research?” 

 

“Absolutely.” Sakura couldn't stop herself from smiling back at her superior. 

 

It felt like ages before Sakura finally found herself in a dinghy with Neji, Tenten and Shikamaru. When they were finally lowered onto the water, Sakura leaned forward and softly swiped her hand through the water. Then she sat back and waited, her eyes searching the surface once more. 

 

Nothing happened. 

 

Sakura frowned and leaned forward again to repeat the motion, but Shikamaru's voice stopped her. 

 

“Orca at 10.” 

 

Her eyes flickered to the location, and indeed, the flopped over dorsal fin of an orca could be seen, before it disappeared under the surface again. 

 

“Is that the one you were looking for?” Tenten asked her. 

 

Sakura shook her head in response. “No, Kakashi is an oceanic whitetip. I'll try again.” 

 

Sakura was a bit worried, however. Kakashi might stay away if there was an orca close. One orca almost always meant that more orca were around, and a pod of orca was dangerous. Even for a mershark, who was also a predator. 

 

As Sakura leaned forward, reaching out to swipe at the water once more, she was stopped by a hand shooting out of the ocean to curl carefully around her wrist. She only vaguely noted that the other hand was placed on the side of the dinghy. She was more focused on the figure that pushed himself up from the water, however. 

 

His skin was paler than Sakura remembered, and his wet hair fell in front of his eyes, until he shook his head, causing droplets of water hit her. It made her smile. Of course he would always have to splash her in some way, shape, or form. His eyes were focused on her face, looking up at her as though she might disappear if he moved his gaze off of her for even just one second. 

 

“Sakura.” 

 

Her name fell from his lips easier than the last time she had heard him say it. Almost as if he had practiced speaking it. 

 

“Hi Kakashi,” she whispered, watching a smile stretch across the merman's face the moment he heard her voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My beta is the best beta :D


	9. Chapter 9

Their faces were only inches apart, but that still wasn’t close enough for Kakashi. He swiftly closed the remaining distance between them, firmly pressing his lips against hers. Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. His lips felt cool against her own, but she could feel her face heating up in response to his actions.

 

Kakashi slowly moved backwards, his eyes never leaving her face. He frowned, reaching out to touch her right cheek briefly before placing his hand on her forehead.

 

“Ill?” he asked, quirking his head to the side. Sakura belatedly realized that she was blushing, and, at the same time, she knew her flush was only getting worse. Just like he had months ago at the research center, Kakashi misinterpreted the rush of colour in her cheeks as a fever.

 

“Troublesome.”

 

Sakura stiffened as she suddenly remembered that she wasn't the only person on the dinghy. Her coworkers had just witnessed her reunion with Kakashi. Not only that, they also had a front row seat to a quite intimate part of that reunion. She immediately moved away from the edge of the dinghy, suddenly all too aware of the others close to her. Sakura turned towards them hesitantly, their faces all sporting different emotions; Neji was frowning, Tenten looked shocked, while Shikamaru just seemed resigned.

 

“Oi, Kakashi, are you done wooing her?” an unfamiliar male voice called out, breaking the awkward silence. It snapped Sakura's attention back to the water before she could say anything to her coworkers. Kakashi was no longer the only merperson close to the dinghy. She could hear Tenten gasp behind her.

 

Sakura couldn't stop the horrified expression that appeared on her face when she took in the newly arrived merorca's appearance. The merman was heavily scarred; she had never seen scarring to such an extent before. It was horrible, and part of Sakura wondered how the merman had even survived an attack that led to scarring this extreme. 

 

Next to him was the mermaid who had helped Sakura to the surface after she had been attacked earlier that day. She was smiling at Sakura sympathetically, as if she understood Sakura's reaction well. The merorca, on the other hand, chuckled at Sakura’s expression before turning to Kakashi, who was pouting at the loss of her attention. 

 

“I think I scared your mate, Kakashi.”

 

Sakura looked between the merorca to Kakashi with confusion, trying to follow what was going on. Kakashi hissed in response and seemed ready to attack the merorca, until the mermaid interrupted them. “Be nice, boys.”

 

“I am nice,” the scarred merman complained, glaring at Kakashi who returned the gesture.

 

“Obito,” the mermaid warned, “don't ruin this for Kakashi.”

 

She then turned her attention back to Sakura. “Hi, I'm Rin, and this is Obito. We're Kakashi's friends.”

 

Sakura's reply came automatically, her mind too busy catching up with all the new information she had just been bombarded with to give a more thoughtful response. “I'm Sakura. It's nice to meet you.”

 

“Now that we're done, can we finally go and sleep? I'm tired. That fight with Kisame was exhausting,” Obito groaned. It was a quick way to remind Sakura that she had been saved by the three of them a few hours ago.

 

“Thank you for saving me.”

 

Obito shrugged and Rin smiled, the two of them clearly not thinking too much of it. Sakura's gaze then landed on Kakashi, who was still observing her intently. “How did you find me?”

 

It was what Sakura had been wondering about since she realized it was Kakashi who had rescued her. The oceans were enormous; what were the chances of Kakashi showing up at a place where she was?

 

Kakashi opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again, frustration marring his face. Sakura watched him struggle for a short time before he turned to Obito and communicated with him in the merfolk language.

 

“Ah,” Obito said, looking very satisfied with himself. “He wants to say that it was destiny.”

 

The answer earned him a smack of Kakashi's tail.

 

“Oi Bakakashi, if you want my help you should be nicer to me!” Obito snapped at the mershark. Kakashi only huffed before saying something to Obito once more in the merfolk language.

 

At first Obito didn't seem willing to translate again, but after Rin joined in on the conversation, Obito quickly gave in. He turned back to Sakura, explaining, “It was luck.”

 

“Luck?” Sakura repeated slowly. That had a completely different connotation than the first answer Obito had given her. She glanced back to Kakashi who, for the first time, was looking away from her, hiding the bottom half of his face underwater. 

 

“It's getting late, Sakura. We need to head back.”

 

Neji still looked unhappy and Sakura wondered what the consequences of this meeting would be. She found herself agreeing with what he had said though. It was late, and tomorrow would be a new day. Now she only had to ensure that Kakashi would still be around.

 

“I have to head back to the ship now.”

 

The first reaction Sakura got from Kakashi was a frown, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Instead he asked her a question. “You come back?”

 

“Tomorrow,” she promised. Then, since she wasn't too sure about his grasp on certain words, she added, “When the sun has risen.”

 

Kakashi nodded slowly. Rin smiled brightly while looking at the two of them. Obito, on the other hand, seemed ready to fall asleep right where he was, and had started to pull at Rin’s arm to get her to come with him. It seemed like Kakashi had had good company while they had been apart. 

 

Once Sakura was back on the ship’s deck, she turned around once more. Obito and Rin had already disappeared, but Kakashi was still watching her. Slowly she lifted her hand and waved at him. After a short pause Kakashi returned the gesture before diving underwater as well.

 

–

 

When they were below deck, Sakura had to face her three coworkers. She took a deep breath to steel herself and decided to just get it over with.

 

“You failed to mention that the relationship between you and that mershark was more than just a bond between caretaker and patient,” Neji started stiffly.

 

“I don't really know what it is yet,” Sakura admitted. “I didn't know he would... kiss me.”

 

Neji looked as uncomfortable as she felt at that moment, the two of them just staring at each other. They would both rather be talking about something else entirely. 

 

“Well, it's interesting though, isn't it?” It was Shikamaru who came to their rescue this time. Sakura was surprised he even made the effort; she had expected him to return to his cabin as soon as they got back on board. Shikamaru wasn't a person that would usually say ‘no’ to sleep.

 

Neji crossed his arms over his chest and turned towards Shikamaru. “Elaborate.”

 

“Have you ever seen a merperson kiss anyone—even another merperson? I haven't, because it isn't natural behavior for them. If you ask me, it would make a good contribution to our research. On top of that, all three of them can talk in our language. I bet we could learn a lot of things from them if they’d be willing to share.” Shikamaru's eyes fell on Sakura. “Do you think they would be?”

 

“They might if I ask them to. They looked willing enough to talk just now,” From the moment Sakura had laid eyes on Kakashi, she hadn’t thought even once about the research, too preoccupied with seeing him again after all this time. But Shikamaru had clearly looked at the situation opportunistically. This solution was perfect for Sakura. She would get a chance to spend time with Kakashi and learn more about merpeople at the same time. 

 

She looked back to Neji; he had the last say.

 

“Well, since the likelihood of the merdolphins coming back is small, this seems to be the best thing to do,” Neji admitted. But before Sakura could get too happy, he continued. “However, don’t get too close. Especially after today, you should realize that their species is dangerous. Keep following the protocol, no matter how friendly they might seem to be.”

 

Sakura nodded, turning to Tenten who gave her a thumbs up. 

 

“Don’t worry, Neji. I’m sure we’re going to be just fine,” Tenten said cheerfully.


	10. Just a note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, this is no update.

Hey,

I have been struggling with Merfolk for the last few months and after a talk with a friend I decided to post this message to let you know I won't be continuing this story. I'm unhappy with some of the decisions I made in the beginning and just don't have a direction for this story anymore.  
I want to thank you for all your comments, those were the main reason I continued, even when I didn't want to update the story anymore. 

I hope you all have a nice day.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts? Comments? I would love to hear them!


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